Mechanism for positioning the conveyer of an addressing machine



C. CHISHOLM.

MECHANISM FOR POSITIONING THE CONVEYER OF AN ADDRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001. I8, 1920.

wan-53g? Patented Dec. 12,1922.

3 SHEETSSHEEI I.

all; (44km C. CHISHOLM. MECHANISM FOR POSITIONING THE CONVEYER OF AN ADDRESSING MACHINE.

EIIIqIiHIIII II APPLICATION FILED OCT. I8, I920.

Patented Dec. 12, 1922 3 SHEETSSHEET 3- W Z 7 M R 3 I M? M C 8 AO I I Patented Dec. 122, i922.

CEIFTGII CHISHOLIVI, OF GLEVEIJAND, OHIO, ASSTGNUR TU THE AMERICAN MULTIGRAPH COMPAIiiiE', 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A. CORPORAI'ION 01 OHIO.

MECHANISM: FOR POSITIONING THE OGNV'EYEH GIFAN ADDRESSING- IVIAGHINE.

Application filed October 18, 1920. SeriaFNo. 417,580.

To all who 1n it may coerce mt:

lie it known that it, Cmrron @HlilZ-EQLH, a.

clear, and exact description, reference be-.

ing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to address printing mechanisms of the type wherein there are individual address plates brought to printing position by a suitable conveyer.

The object of the invention is to cause the conveyer to be properly positioned when the address plates are placed in the magazine, so that the plates will properly register with the conveyer and will be thus properly presented to the impression mei'nbers'oi the printing mechanism. i

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide mechanism operated automatically by the act of placing a drawer of address plates in the magazine of the machine to position the conveyer before any plate can be fed from the magazine.

My invention includes also the construction and combinations of parts by which 1 effect the desired result, as hereinafter more fully explained in connection with the drawings.

in the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of an addressing machine adjacent to the feed magazine and conveyei' illustrating my invention; Figs. 2 and are elevations in different positions of the gear for driving the paper feeding drum which cooperates with the plate at the printing position; Figs. 4- and 5 are elevations adjacent to the lower end storage magazine, showing the conveyer and position device in its idle position and in its operative position, respectively; Figs. 6 and 7 are details in cross-section in the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 41-, the views looking upwardly in each case; Fig. 8 is a detail of the mechanism which the drawer QIlgi LQIBS, this view being an elevation at right an? gles to Fig. 4:; Fig. 9 is a plan of the ma chine sectioned thru the storage magazine; Fig. 10 is a perspective of the drawer.

In Fig. 9, I have shown at A one of the address plates carried by a holder A' which may be made in any suitable form, the

which may be withdrawn.

holder shown being constructed in accordance with my'application No. 410,710, filed September 16, 1920.

The address plates are normally" stored on ed e in a horizontal drawer having an open end and provided with retaining means When the machine is to be. loaded, this drawer is placed vertically in the magazine and the retaining means withdrawn to leave the contents standing in a vertical stack, after which the drawer is lifted out vertically. The drawer may well be made in accordance with my B retaining springs on the sides thereof which have inturned ends 6 adapted to project thru' openings into the interior. These inturned ends normally hold the plates in place, but when drawn outwardly free them.

The storage magazine is preferably a skeleton structure comprising two vertical angle bars 1, and two vertical channel bars A, asshown in Figs. 1 and 9. lVhen the machine to be loaded the drawer is put in place in this skeleton frame with the open face of the'drawer toward the left in Fig. 1, and. with the springs standing freely be tween the bars 1 and 2. When thus positioned, the springs B between their legs engage stationary cams 3 carried on brackets lsecured to the bars 2. Such engagement automatically swings the lower ends of the springs outwardly to release the address plates. and when swung so outwardly, the ends Z9 of the springs engage the outer sides of the drawer and are thus retained in idle position. The drawer may now be drawn upwardly out of the machine, leaving the address plates in position therein.

Near the lower end of the drawer on the outer sides ofits walls are projecting pins 7). its the drawer is coming intoposition these pins engage mechanism comprised within the present invention to properly position the conveyor. This mechanism will be described after the details of the conveyer shown have been explained.

10 designates two endless conveyer chains which run over sprockets 11 at the rear of the storage magazine and sprockets 12 at the front thereof. The reaches of the chain extend preferably horizontal. Certain links of these chains are provided with projections 13 adapted to engage the address plate holdersthe projections being equally spaced about the chain, the distance between them being preferably equal to half the periphcry of the sprocket 12. The sprockets 11 are mounted on a shaft 15 journaled in a suitable bearing 16 at the rear of the machine. Proper tension is maintainedon the chains by rocking the bearing 16, this hearing be ing pivotally mounted on a stationary block 17, and suitable screws 18 and 19 serving to adjust it. The sprockets. 12 are rigid on a shaft 20 in the forward portion of the machine, this shaft 20 preferably being the driver for the sprocket chains. Between the sprockets 12 is a platen 24. Above this platen and coacting with it is a rotary paper feeding platen indicated by dotted lines 25 in Fig. 1.

It will be seen from the construction described that after the drawer has been inserted and removed, the plates may stand in a vertical stack directly above the sprocket chains and the lower-most plates be fed continuously one after the other from the bottom of the stack to the impression rollers by reason of the engagement of the lugs 13 with the then lowermost plate.

If the chain is properly positioned when the'stack is inserted, so that lugs 13 are immediately behind and in front of the bottommost plate, the stack of plates may be fed continuously without adjustment or attention, In operation, the conveyer is likely to get out of position by momentum at the end of a row of plates, and it is then important that the chains bereset when a fresh supply of plates is used; otherwise the lugs would scrape across the bottom-most plate until a proper space would come on the conveyer for a plate, and in the meantime the paper feed, which is timed with reference to the operation of the conveyer, would have fed an article to be printed so that there would be no plate at the printingposition, and the sheet or envelope would go thru unprinted. If the machine is equipped, as it may be, with automatic stop mechanism, active whenever there is failure of the plate at the printing position, the result would be a stoppage of the machine.

It is desirable that the adjustment of the machine with reference to the plates be made automatically, rather than manually, to avoid improper operation in case the operator forgot to adjust it. The present invention provides for this automatic adjustment mechanism, as I will now explain.

Slidably mounted on one of the bars 1, of the supply magazine, is a rod 30, which is urged upwardly by a spring 31. This rod is guided by a stirrup 32 secured to the bar 1. Below the stirrup it carries a step 34c which is adapted to be engaged by the pins 6 heretofore mentioned. When the drawer is absent the step 34: engages the under side of the bracket 32. Pivoted to the rod 30 is a pallet composed of a pair of links 35 and a cross pin 86, which is adapted to hook over a pallet a0 on the shaft 15 carrying the sprocket wheels 11.

Now, when the drawer is inserted, the pin F) engages the step 34. and forces downwardly the rod 30. This pulls the pallet downwardly and forwardly, the cross pin thereof engaging one of the hooked ends 41 of the palletwheel, and giving the shaft 15 a pa tial rotation in the forward direction. This advances the chains to bring them into positicn, all of the lugs of the upper reaches will be either in front of or behind the bottommost plate. It is to be understood that the pallet wheel is secured to the shaft 15 in such relation to the position of the lugs that this proper positioning will result when the drawer has reached its lower-most position,

as shown inFig. 5. Now, when the drawer is liited out the bar SO returns to normal position, and this returns the pallet but leaves the pallet wheel and shaft in the position into which they have been turned.

To enable the adjustment of the chain to be made without requiring much force in positioning the drawer, I provide a loose play. connection between the shaft 20 and the shaft which drives it and the paper feed drum 25. As indicatedin Fig. 1, I have provided tight on the shaft 20 a spur gear 50 which meshes with a spur gear 51 loose on the shaft 54, which is "secured .to

the paper feeding drum 25 and drives the machine. On this shaft 5% is a key 53 cccupying a cavity 55 in the hub 52 of the gear 51.

Now, when the chains are drawn forwardly by the mechanism described, the ear 51 is turned in the driving direction from the normal position shown in Fig. 3, and to some such position as indicated in Fig. 2. Accordingly this movem nt hasbeen effected withoutchanging the position of the paper feeding drum 25. Ehe cavity in the gear 53 is of sufficient angular extentto allow for the maximum positioning movement of the chain, so that irrespective of the actual amount of advancement of the chain the paper feeding mechanism is not changed. Then when the paper feed starts. the movement is idle until this slack is taken up, but it is all. taken up before aplate arrives at the printing position, so that machine operates in unison thereafter.

The paper feeding mechanism may be of any character desired, which will bring the paper around the drum 25 and cause it to travel forwardly on the under side thereof in the same general direction as the adjacent portions of the chain and the plate propelled thereby. For feeding envelopes, a very efficient mechanism for this purpose is Cir that shown and claimed in my Patent No. 1,285,628, granted November 26, 1918.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a supply magazine, of a conveyer adapted to act successively on plates fed by gravity, and mechanism for automatically positioning the corn vcy'er to cause it to properly engage the endmost plate 2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a supply magazine, of a conveyer, and means for automatically positioning the conveyer consequent upon placing plates in the supply magazine.

3. In an address printing machine, the combination with address plates, of a conveyer thereof having projections adapted to engage the plates, and means for automatically positioning the conveyer with reference to the plates.

at. In an address printing machine, the combination with conveyer chains having projections, address plates to cooperate therewith, and automatic means for shifting the chains relative to the plates.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a conveyer, a drawer for address plates, mechanism for automatically positioning the conveyer with reference to the endmost plate, said mechanism being operated automatically by the drawer.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a pair of conveyer chains having projections, a supply magazine adapted to carry plates with the endmost one in presentation to the chain, and mechanism for automatically shifting the chain lengthwise of itself to position it with reference to the endmost plate.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a pair of conveyer chains having projections, a supply magazine adapted to carry plates, mechanism for shifting the chain to position its projections with reference to the end-most plate, said mechanism being adapted to be operated by a drawer which carries the plates.

A S. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a conveyer, a

means operated by the movement of the drawer to draw the chain lengthwise to properly position lugs thereon with reference to the end-most plate.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a supply magazine, an endless conveyer comprising two chains having spaced lugs, a drawer adapted to be inserted in the magazine and carry address plates and deposit them therein, a

and a connection between it and the said a operating member.

12. In an addressing machine, the combination of a chain conveyer having projections, sprockets on which the chain is mounted, a shaft carrying the sprockets, a pallet wheel on the shaft, a bar slidably guided on the magazine, means adapted to connect the bar with the pallet wheel, and a shoulder on the bar adapted to be engaged and moved by an address plate drawer as it is being moved into position in the machine.

13. In an addressing machine, the combination of a supply magazine, a drawer for address plates adapted to be inserted therein, a conveyer for the address plates, mechanism for positioning the conveyer having the shoulder adjacent to the path of the drawer when moving it to position, and a projection on the drawer adapted to engage said shoulder.

14.. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a supply magazine and a conveyer, of a plate-platen, and an opposed paper-platen, both geared with the conveyer, a loose play connection in the gearing between the conveyer and the paper platen, and mechanism for adjusting the position of the conveyer relative to the end-most address plate.

1.5. In an addressing machine, the combi nation of a pair of conveyer chains having projections adapted to engage and feed plates, means for shifting the chains to properly position them with reference to the end-most plate, sprocket wheels over which the chains extend, a platen between the sprocket wheels, a paper feeding drum cooperating with the platen, gearing between the sprocket wheels and the paper drum,

said gearing having a loose play to compensate for the adjustment of the chain.

16. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination with a supply magazine and a conveyer, of a plate-platen, and an opposed paper platen, both geared with the conveyer, a loose play connection in the gearing between the conveyer and the paper platen, a drawer adapted to be inserted in and withdrawn from the supply magazine to deposit plates therein, and mechanism operated automatically by such movement of the drawer to position the conveyer.

17. In an address machine, the combination of a supply magazine, a pair of consignature.

CLIFTON CHISHOLM. 

